Title: In Your Prime And Faraway
Author: Wicked dR

Disclaimer: WB is the God, not me. I'm writing this for my own pleasure.

Rating/Genre: PG/Skit

Summary/Set: in the future. What I think Phoebe deserves.

Warning: I really wrote this out of hatred towards Phoebe.

Phoebe locked her car and started up on the steps leading to the manor, glad she was finally almost home. The rays of the sun were shimmering brightly, and the whiteness of it could've prompted her to think about whitelighters, but the vibration of the air flickering in the midsummer heat always stroke a chord with her, making her ponder about Cole, a man she last saw almost forty years ago now. She couldn't count how many lovers, boyfriends she had had since, nobody measured up to him in her heart of hearts, not even her two fiancés, or Liam, the one out of those two she was actually married to for a decade. None of that mattered now, she was over trying to find real love. She didn't even think about it that much anymore. As the trickles of sweat were working their way down through her hair, she wished she was still able to wear sleeveless tops and miniskirts. She walked up slowly, feeling old, tired and overheated, wishing for a whitelighter sometimes to orb her back from work. Of course she hadn't seen Leo for year, he was always busy, especially since he had not had much reason to touch earth after Piper died and his sons joined the work force of the whitelighters. Even Chris, her still assigned whitelighter was a rare visitor, and even when he orbed in, he mostly came to see his aunt and was not there on business, since she was not a charmed one anymore and as such not a constant target of demon attacks. Paige had also left after their older sister died, she was always one for pursuing her own ambitions. Phoebe was lonely, not all that old in reality, but drained after half a life of demons trying to kill her every corner of the way. She stepped into the manor to be greeted by the familiar tinkling sound of the orbing she so missed.

"It took you a while to get back," Chris, in his mid thirties, manly and the very handsome father of two girls, finally have married the altered future's Bianca, greeted her with a hug, "I tried to get to you a few times, but you were in public places."

"Is there a problem?" Phoebe wasn't used to the urgency in his voice anymore.

"No, not a problem, at least not yet. But there is quite a lot of activity in the underworld and there is an up-and-coming power surge to be felt. We have no idea what it is, in fact not much has been known about what's happening amongst demons for the last few years, so the Elders hoped you would come down there with me and try to get a premonition."

"When? Now? Should we go now?" Phoebe was hoping she could at least get something to eat, "half an hour shouldn't matter. You want some fish?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Chris! You could watch where you orb in! Back, back, now!" Phoebe reached for him, as the underground corridor, which seemed empty at first look started to fill up with demons. One of them emanated a force field with what looked like laser beam eyes that raised a wall between Phoebe and her whitelighter, both of them cornered by several demons armed with sledges at each side of the barrier.

Phoebe, not in the mood for a fight, but nevertheless still fit if she had to, aided with her levitating ability, threw some untamed punches and kicks at the group of sentinels, or whatever the attackers were, but saw Chris being whacked sternly over the head with something. The witch ducked out of the way of a fireball, not realising it wasn't a fireball at all, and it wasn't directed at her either. The energy sphere opened a hole in the ground in front of her, and its power sucked her in, and the demon who released it followed her into the opening, where the two opponents continued their tussle on the way to an unknown destination to Phoebe.

By the time they have touched solid ground, the demon had her in his strong grip. They rounded a corner and she was pushed up some stairs, "this way, witch."

"Why? What's here?"

"The king's private quarters. I'll honour you with that, cause you are a charmed one."

"Were, charmed. And how do you know?"

"I'm a sort of empath, just like you, but I see facts, not emotions."

"Great," Phoebe growled as she was led down a passage, into a large room and propelled onto the floor, being set free from the brawny arms now.

"Easy, will you?" She said to the demon doing the shove. She was ignored, what's more, the demon created one of his energy holes and vanished through it. She looked around in the room. It was vast and circular, dim and moderately warm. The walls were ruby, half covered with drapery of scenes of demonic power encounters. A long, swish rug led across the room to a marble platform with a well cushioned throne. She tried to find an exit, as the one they came in seemed to have moulded into the wall and was nowhere to be seen. Must've been also created by the power of the demon who took her. Chances were, most people would've teleported in there anyway.

"One of the charmed ones, huh? Which witch?" She didn't need to turn to recognise the owner of the voice, but an impulse made her look into that direction. The one that captured her stood in the midst of a group of demons, and the personification of tall, dark and handsome was the one that addressed him. Cole looked only about a couple of years older than she last seen him, if they were measuring it by human standards. The only thing that indicated about him, that more than a couple of years have passed was his long hair. You could say, Cole was in top form, at a best age for a demon. Regardless of her age, Phoebe felt suddenly very hot on the sight of the well-groomed, stylish, fresh, gorgeous, off handish, and just simply imposing man and knew that reaction will never change, no matter what.

His clothes were mostly green, matching his eyes, apart from his black shoes and golden vest on top of his shirt. He scrutinised her for a minute, as if not being sure who she was, then energetically walked over to his throne and sat on it. His darkly glittering green eyes laughed bemused as he saw her taking a fighting stance, "now how did we dig up such prize?" He looked her right in the eye, his voice dripping od sarcasm.

tbc